Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Chapter 105: Chapter 102: Sub-Divine Artifact ”Giant’s Grip

’An act?’

Raylo understood at once.

He had seen plenty of these kinds of schemes at the street stalls in his past life.

Just as he’d expected, after a round of ”intense” haggling, the Knight’s face filled with ”despair.”

”Boss, all I have on me is two hundred Golden Dragons. You see, could you possibly...”

”Two hundred Golden Dragons? Sir, you must be joking!”

The One-Eyed Mercenary shook his head so vigorously it was like a blur.

”Three hundred and fifty Golden Dragons, minimum! That’s already the friend price! If it weren’t for your sincerity and your expert eye, I wouldn’t even mention a price this low!”

”Three hundred Golden Dragons! That’s my absolute final offer!”

The Knight gritted his teeth, as if making a tremendous sacrifice.

”I’ll go figure something out, borrow some from a friend. Boss, you have to hold it for me! I’ll be right back!”

”Alright, alright. Seeing how sincere you are, three hundred Golden Dragons it is. I’ll hold it for you for half an hour. If you’re not back, I’m selling it to someone else!”

the One-Eyed Mercenary said with a ”pained” expression.

”Thank you, boss! Thank you so much!”

The Knight was practically weeping with gratitude, bowing repeatedly to the One-Eyed Mercenary. He then turned and hurried off to ”borrow money,” casting one last, reluctant glance at the ”Soul-Breaking Blade” before he left.

Raylo watched him go, the corner of his mouth curling into a subtle arc.

’They’ve really thought of everything for this little play.’

Once the Knight was a good distance away, the One-Eyed Mercenary’s gaze fell back on Raylo, and he let out a sigh.

”My apologies, young man. You’ve seen something embarrassing. Business is tough these days. I finally run into someone who knows his stuff, and he turns out to be a pauper.”

Raylo scoffed inwardly but put on an interested expression.

”Boss, is that ’Soul-Breaking Blade’ the Knight was talking about really that incredible?”

The One-Eyed Mercenary’s eyes lit up. He knew the fish was about to take the bait. He immediately put on a sincere expression.

”Young man, everyone in this oasis knows that I, Luton, never lie! You saw that gentleman just now—he’s a true connoisseur! If he hadn’t been short on cash, would this treasure even be available for you?”

”Could I take a look at it?” Raylo asked.

”Of course, of course!”

The One-Eyed Mercenary enthusiastically handed the rusty sword to Raylo.

Raylo took the sword and, mimicking the Knight from before, began to inspect it with a serious air.

The blade was mottled with rust and the edge was chipped in several places. Only on the hilt could one faintly make out some intricate patterns, but even those were almost completely worn down.

It had some decent weight to it, but that was about all.

”Hmm, it certainly looks ancient,”

Raylo mused aloud, feigning deep thought.

”But this condition... Isn’t three hundred Golden Dragons a bit steep?”

”Steep?”

The One-Eyed Mercenary’s eyes widened.

”Young man, this was the personal sword of Kassadin, the ’Shadow Blade’! Three hundred Golden Dragons is practically a giveaway! It’s only because I’m in dire need of money today; otherwise, you wouldn’t get it from me for less than eight hundred! That gentleman earlier knew what he was looking at, and even he was willing to pay three hundred. How could it be fake?”

”That may be so...”

Raylo frowned, appearing hesitant.

”But three hundred Golden Dragons is no small sum. Boss, how about this? I’ll look at some other things, and if I find something I like, you can give me a discount on the whole lot?”

The One-Eyed Mercenary was secretly overjoyed but feigned a hint of impatience.

”Fine, fine, but look quickly. That gentleman could be back any minute. If you want to buy it then, I won’t be able to sell it to you.”

He struck a pose that said, ’Buy it or don’t, someone else is desperate for it.’

Raylo’s gaze swept over the stall, seemingly at random. He then picked up the pitch-black handguard that had first caught his eye, and also grabbed a similarly dilapidated bronze bracelet next to it, which was covered in a green patina.

”Boss, this sword, plus this handguard and this bracelet. Three hundred Golden Dragons for all three. If you agree, I’ll pay right now.”

Raylo weighed the handguard and bracelet in his hands as he stated his price.

Hearing this, the One-Eyed Mercenary was bursting with joy inside.

The broken sword had cost him only a few Silver Eagles. As for the handguard and the bracelet, he’d fished them out of a scrap heap for less than a single Silver Eagle combined.

And now this kid was willing to pay three hundred Golden Dragons for these three pieces of junk. He was a sucker sent from heaven!

But he kept the ”troubled” and ”pained” expression on his face, his brow furrowed.

”Young man, you drive a hard bargain! The ’Soul-Breaking Blade’ alone is worth three hundred Golden Dragons, and you want me to throw in these two? No, no way. I’d be taking a huge loss!”

Raylo made a show of putting the items down.

”If you’re not willing, Boss, then forget it. I’ll go check out other stalls.”

”Hey, hey, hey, not so fast, young man!”

The One-Eyed Mercenary quickly ”stopped” him, forcing a smile that was uglier than a grimace.

”How about this? I, Luton, believe in doing honest business. You genuinely want them, so I won’t let you get the short end of the stick. Three hundred Golden Dragons for the sword, and you can pick either the handguard or the bracelet to go with it. I’m already losing my shirt on this!”

He beat his chest and stomped his feet, looking as tragic as someone feeding a tiger with his own flesh.

Raylo chuckled to himself. ’This stall owner is quite the actor.’

This was exactly the effect he’d been hoping for.

”Alright,”

Raylo nodded ”reluctantly.”

”Then I’ll take the sword and this handguard.”

He tossed the dilapidated bronze bracelet back onto the stall as if it had been a random choice.

”Deal!”

The One-Eyed Mercenary shouted, afraid he would change his mind.

Raylo briskly counted out three hundred gleaming Golden Dragons from his coin purse and handed them to the One-Eyed Mercenary.

The One-Eyed Mercenary took the Golden Dragons, bit one to confirm it was real, and then could no longer contain his smile, which stretched nearly from ear to ear.

”A pleasure doing business with you, young man! Here you are, the ’Soul-Breaking Blade’ and this ’Ancient Handguard.’ Take good care of them!”

He had deliberately given the handguard an impressive-sounding name.

Raylo tucked the rusty ”Soul-Breaking Blade” and the pitch-black ”Giant’s Grip” away, then, holding Moonlight, he turned and left the stall without a moment’s hesitation.

A few moments after Raylo’s figure disappeared into the crowd, the Knight who had previously hurried off to ”borrow money” sauntered back.

”Luton, how did it go? Did the kid bite?”

The Knight wore a mocking smile, with none of the ”anxiety” and ”sincerity” he had shown before.

The One-Eyed Mercenary, Luton, hefted the coin purse in his hand, which produced a pleasant jingle of metal. His smile made the scar on his face seem less ferocious.

”Done! Three hundred Golden Dragons, not one less! The kid really thought he’d found a treasure. He even took a worthless handguard off my hands!”

”HAHAHA! Another idiot!”

the Knight roared with laughter.

”This ’Hero Appreciates a Treasure’ act of ours never fails!”

Luton said smugly.

”Of course it doesn’t! I specially hunt for all this so-called ’ruin merchandise’ from the stalls on the west side of the city. Each piece costs a few Silver Eagles at most. I make up a story, you put on your show, and the price instantly multiplies by several hundred! Next time, we’ll just change the name of this ’Soul-Breaking Blade’ to, say, the ’Dragon Slayer’s Oath,’ and we can probably sell it for another good price!”

”Exactly! Those self-righteous adventurers and young noble masters always think they have a unique eye for treasure, that they can find gems in a trash heap. We’re just giving them a little push and fulfilling their fantasies.”

the Knight said with a laugh.

”Come on, let’s go split the money! Tonight, we’ll live it up at the ’Red Rose’!”

”Let’s go!”

The two walked arm in arm, heading triumphantly toward a tavern deeper in the marketplace.